The Power of the Voice
Chapter 2: The Smash World
*The Smash Mansion*
In the mansion, many of the Smashers did their normal thing when not battling. Peach was having tea with Zelda. Link and Marth were polishing their swords. The kid Smashers were playing Mario Kart. And so on. It was peaceful, until the room was filled with a bright light.
"What's that?" Lucas asked as the kids stopped playing to look.
"Who knows. Maybe it's the others that went to Earth," Link suggested.
He was right as they saw Sonic, Mario, Fox, Lucario, and a girl fly out of the portal. When they landed they all felt dizzy.
"Man… I didn't think… portal hopping… could be so...ugh…" Sonic struggled to say until he fell unconscious as well as the other four who also collapsed out of dizziness.
"Mama mia! Mario, guys, are you alright?" Luigi asked as he tried to wake up his brother.
"Oh my, I'll go get Master Hand," Peach said as she went to get him.
As the Smashers waited, all heads turned to the girl who was unconscious like the other four Smashers. They saw what was on her wrist.
"Is that the Smash Bracelet?" Ness asked while poking it.
"Looks like it. Apparently she's the wearer," Link replied.
After a couple of minutes, Master Hand came in along with Peach.
"So they found it," Master Hand stated
"Yep it's on her, and they all collapsed when they came out of the portal," Peach said as she pointed to Arla.
"Traveling through dimensions can leave a side effect of dizziness sometimes. Take them to the infirmary to recover, including the girl. We'll talk to her when she wakes up. And make sure you all guard the infirmary inside and out in case that intruder comes back. Take shifts if you need to," MH commanded. The Smashers nodded and did just that. "Let's hope we can trust her," he muttered before entering his office.
*?*
"Sir, I know who has the artifact, but she is now in the Smashers' custody," said the mystery woman who took the Smash Bracelet in the first place.
"And you came back for backup I assume," the woman's boss stated, slightly annoyed that she didn't get what he wanted. The woman nodded.
"Very well, Akidan, but if you fail me again, you know what'll happen," the boss warned with a stern voice.
"It won't be a problem. I won't fail you," the woman, named Akidan, said with certainty.
*Smash Mansion, later in the evening*
Everyone was close to done with dinner and four Smashers guarded the infirmary, taking their shift. Marth and Ike guarded the entrance outside and Falco and Meta Knight guarded inside. It's been hours since the traveling Smashers came back and none of them have woken up yet.
"Man it's been hours since we put them in here. When will they wake up?" Falco asked slightly frustrated.
"Patience Falco, I'm sure they'll eventually wake up," said Meta Knight.
"Ugh, my head." The two guards inside heard a groan and saw Fox stirring up.
"Uh…" They heard more sounds as the other three Smashers woke up.
"What a nap," Mario said.
"About time you all woke up. You've been out for nine hours," Falco stated.
"NINE HOURS?!" the awaken Smashers said in unison, obviously surprised.
"That must have been some trip then," Sonic said dumbfounded.
Then they all heard movement, and they all looked at the final bed. There, the girl who was also knocked out woke up and gripped her head and realized where she was. She looked around then looked toward the six Smashers. She then touched her back and looked around again as if looking for something. Then she saw the sword on the table beside her and sighed in relief.
"Greetings, welcome to the Smash Mansion," Meta Knight said to her. She turned to the two in front of her and only nodded in response.
"Hey there. I'm Falco Lombardi, and that's Meta Knight," Falco said as he and Meta Knight waved at her. Then, Marth and Ike came in.
"Are they awake?" Marth asked and both swordsmen saw all five of them awake.
"And they are Marth and Ike," Meta Knight said as he pointed to both of them respectively. She once again nodded and the swordsmen returned the gesture.
"I'll fetch Master Hand," Ike volunteered and left.
"So what's your name?" Marth asked. This made the four Smashers look at each other with a worried look. And they turned back to the other Smashers.
"Her name is Arla Nadika, and she can't speak," Fox replied. Arla nodded and looked down with a sadden face.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."
Then, Ike came back along with Master Hand.
"Hello, it's nice to meet you, I am Master Hand," MH greeted. Arla waved to return the greeting.
"Her name is Arla Nakida, but she can't speak," Lucario said.
"Oh dear, well that's a problem. Here use this." Master Hand summoned a small notebook and pencil and gave it to Arla. She wrote down any question she wanted to ask.
"How do all exist?" Arla wrote down.
"There are millions of parallel dimensions where we are seen as different things. There could be a dimension out there where we're all seen as chickens or one where we're all humans, maybe even one where we all switch roles with each other." The Smashers visibly shivered at those possibilities. "In your dimension we are seen as video game characters, but in this dimension, we all exist." MH explained.
"Why did you create the Smash Bracelet?"
"I made it to help the Smashers in certain situations if it requires a certain skill that a Smasher lacks."
"How do I take it off?"
"Take it off? What do you mean by that? It should act as a simple accessory." At this statement, Sonic, Mario, Fox, and Lucario looked slightly worried.
"When I grabbed it, it began to float, emitting a strange light. Then it latched onto me. It feels as if it became one with my skin."
"That wasn't supposed to happen. I don't know how to help you with that." All the Smashers in the room stared at the giant hand with wide eyes.
"I thought you said you completed it!" Mario exclaimed.
"I did, but it was the first one I made, side effects were bound to happen."
"So it's permanently stuck on her?" Lucario questioned.
"Unfortunately yes, but only until I find a way to reverse the process. Until then she will have to stay in the mansion with us and become a Smasher." Everyone looked at Arla to know if she's ok with this. She gave a nod in agreement, but they couldn't tell if was out of joy or sadness because she still kept her straight face. Lucario secretly used his aura to figure out how she felt, but he couldn't find a single emotion. Her aura was blue so he knew she was a friend, but their wasn't any flame surrounding the aura. Depending on the size of the flame and it's color shows what they feel and how deep they express that feeling. To find no flame concerned him.
"No emotion at all. Why?" Lucario thought confused.
"What happens now?" Arla asked.
"For now the five of you will rest here tonight, and tomorrow she'll be introduced to the rest," MH said. Falco, Meta Knight, Marth, Ike, and MH then left the other five to rest.
"While we're all here, can we get to know you more?" Mario asked. Arla nodded. Lucario decided to help her communicate by connecting everyone's thoughts together, so it was like a regular conversation in their heads.
"I lived in Arizona since I was born, and I am to become an engineer when I grow up. So my parents always signed me up to summer camp classes every summer. It's the same classes I take in school as well. AP chemistry, engineering 101, piano practice, gymnastics, archery, and martial arts."
"How were you during all of that," Fox asked.
"I was the at the top of every class."
They looked at me somewhat impressed.
"Dang girl, you must have been proud," Sonic said impressed.
"Not really."
"Why? You must've been popular, and everyone could've seen you as their idol." Lucario then sent Sonic a glare which confused the hedgehog.
"What?"
"They all know about me, but that doesn't mean they appreciate me. Many thought I was too good for them while others thought I would rather focus more on my studies then make friends. They thought I would be scary of completely unapproachable."
The Smashers looked at her with sympathy.
"Who did they think they are making assumptions like that?" Fox said with anger.
"Did you try to approach others?" Mario asked.
"Yes, I tried to make a good impression, I tried to pass on notes to them as directly as possible, I tried to wave at them. But, they always turn me away and try to avoid me. So I came to accept my life of loneliness. Luckily, Julia was always there to comfort me when I needed it, but other than her, I had no one to turn to."
They looked at each other with sad looks. Then they turned back to Arla with smiles. Arla was confused.
"Then start over." Lucario said.
"Huh?"
"Yeah, you already got four new friends right here. If you need help, we'll be there to help, including the rest of the Smashers," Sonic said happily.
"Yes, we treat each other like a second family here."
"Don't hesitate to ask," Fox said.
"Thank you." Arla said. And for the first time in her life, she gave a sincere smile. The others returned the gesture.
"Is it ok if you… um… you know… share…" Arla hesitated.
"You want us to share our stories?" Mario asked. Arla slowly nodded. "Of course. But why are you so shy to ask that?"
"That was my first time asking for what I wanted. Usually things are chosen for me since I can't say what I like." She looked down with embarrassment.
They all nodded in understanding, and they told her about their lives. After about an hour of talking, they all started to feel sleepy.
"(yawn) Well we better get some sleep. Night guys," Fox said as he fell asleep as did the rest of the Smashers. Arla was still awake looking up at the ceiling.
"My second chance. I can finally get my opportunity to be truly happy," Arla thought as she slowly drifted to sleep.